Review: Disney on Ice spectacular keeps audiences captivated

As my little boy finished school on Wednesday, he thought we were heading home as usual. Little did he know there was a big surprise planned for him and we were actually going to the Manchester Arena to watch "Disney on Ice Passport to Adventure".

Once I told him where we were going, he could hardly contain his excitement. Accompanied by my sister and six-year-old nephew, on arrival we discovered soap stars and footballers including Brooke Vincent, John Thomson, Kirstie Leigh Porter, Chris Smalling and more had attended the magical opening night of the spectacular show, which this year takes audiences on a globetrotting tour of Disney destinations from The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan and everyone's favourite, Frozen.

Manchester Utd defender Chris Smalling with his family

The two-hour action warmed up with an appearance from the stars of the recent animation smash-hit film Zootropolis, before Disney favourites Mickey and Minnie Mouse and their friends Goofy and Donald Duck glided into view.

This year's show explored the African Pride Lands with Simba, Timon and Pumbaa, while voyaging deep under the sea to Ariel’s mystical underwater kingdom and touring London with Peter Pan, before flying to Neverland to meet up with Tinker Bell. Audiences were then whisked away to the wintery wonderland of the number-one-animated feature film of all time, Disney’s “Frozen”, for an extraordinary adventure with sisters Anna and Elsa, rugged mountain man Kristoff and everyone’s favourite huggable snowman, Olaf. As usual the scenery, costumes and special effects were second to none. All the sequences were well-thought out and choreographed, showcasing some impressive ice skating tricks and stagecraft with "snow" falling from the ceiling and belting tunes .

The arena was filled with music and magic in every scene as excited audiences discovered four unique landscapes filled with boisterous pirates, Caribbean beats and tender moments. In the second half of the show, Queen Elsa was stunning as she took control of the ice while sister Anna gave a brilliant performance too. The audience was gripped with the amazing skating, breathtaking sets and all around children could be heard singing along to "Let it go" as well as dancing in the aisles.

Every year Disney on Ice hits the spot with ever-improving sets, stories and performances. This year was no exception - a memorable night out for the four of us and one that kept audiences spellbound from start to finish.

Disney On Ice Passport To Adventure will be skating into Glasgow, Newcastle, Birmingham, Sheffield and London until December 30th and is at the Manchester Arena until Sunday, October 15th. For the complete list of tour dates and tickets, head to www.disneyonice.co.uk.